quest idea: alternative route to avatar of order?

[grobblewobble]

One of the results of the adom crowdfunding campaign was a bunch of new quests to be suggested by the Adom community. So I had an idea that could fullfill one of them. I've always found it a bit weird that the only way you can become an avatar of order is by committing lots of dreadful sins. First you need to become chaotic on purpose for the ratling, then you have to sell your soul to Gaab'baay, killing innocent farmers and so on.

So I was thinking that maybe it would be fun to have an alternative that doesn't require any chaotic acts? It should be more difficult than the chaotic way, maybe you need some other rare items or maybe it should require you to complete a tough area at low level (or before day N, or something like that). Or several hard areas. Having to return the cute dog before day 4 could be a start, for example. It could possibly be connected to Rolf, or to the volcano. Hawkslayer could possibly play a role, so that the HMV would still be involved.

Do you like this idea? Any suggestions, comments?

[Stingray1]

It is very difficult if not near impossible to figure out how to become an avatar of order, unless somebody is spoiled in this regard.

Those games don't count really. Unless the creator makes these special endings a bit easier to figure out. I don't think he needs to bother.

Technically you don't need to perform more than the one chaotic act of receiving the amulet, unless starting with a non-C r/c.

[JellySlayer]

Some disconnected thoughts on this:

-Quest giver could be post-AoLS Khelevaster in Terinyo--another NPC would be fine, but he's already there and it fits well with lore.
-Platinum girdle is an obvious candidate for an order hero item. It's so obscenely hard to get in 1.2.0, so having it be of some importance could work.
-Khelevaster could require you to "purify" the Chaos Trinity items somehow. If you speak to him crowned L+, then he will reveal the location of the ancient stone circle, then perform some sort of ritual to transform it in to its original "lawful" form. I was thinking something to the effect of: Visit the volcano and mine some volcanic stone. Smelt into volcanic ingots, then dip each into into a PoCC to create some platinum ingots. Smith the Crown of Chaos in Darkforge using holy ingots to create the Crown of Order. The quest should probably require a sacrifice on par with 6 artifacts. Maybe a specific artifact pickaxe (Rolf's?), anvil or hammer would be required to process the ores properly as well.
-ToTRR can be acquired in the usual way, I suppose.

[grobblewobble]

-Platinum girdle is an obvious candidate for an order hero item. It's so obscenely hard to get in 1.2.0, so having it be of some importance could work.

Yes, that would make sense. I wouldn't say obscenely.. compared to 1.1 it's far easier now. I retrieved the girdle twice in both versions, in 1.2 I think the difficulty is comparable to getting the cat's ring. The main problem is teleport control, if you find a workaround for that and can live without pickpocketing or grave digging, you're basically there. (Well actually I take care to avoid the backstabbing skill too, but I am not even sure that is necessary.)

-Khelevaster could require you to "purify" the Chaos Trinity items somehow. If you speak to him crowned L+, then he will reveal the location of the ancient stone circle, then perform some sort of ritual to transform it in to its original "lawful" form.

Very interesting idea. The ratling hints that the stone circle has other purposes, doesn't he?

[Stingray1]

Yes, he says that it was built for all alignments, IIRC. Also that it may have some other effects.

[gym21]

I really like this idea. The non-chaotic Ultra endings have always seemed a little unbelievable to me in terms of character progression, and it would be nice to have it fleshed out in a meaningful way. Platinum girdle seems like a must.

[blob]

It was a long time ago since I did that, but I thought the Ultra chaos god ending also required a switch of alignment. The normal chaos god ending is actually the one I like best, very consistent. However, the UCG can easily be fixed if a certain someone drops the loot if killed (sorry if I remember wrong here). Non-chaotic requires more work, but it would be nice if the stone circle is involved somehow. Good idea!

[Grey]

I personally like the way the ultras all require alignment switching. It gives a flavour of moral ambiguity to the world. And I like the idea that to rise in light you must first know darkness, and vice versa.

[blob]

Well, that's one way to look at it I suppose, though I suspect you're in a minority there. For me it just seems like a hurdle that's all to do with game mechanics.

[Stingray1]

We must remember that Gaab' Baay was originally added for a OCG, which is all about C. The Creator did a fancy job of adding some content for ultra.

Which very few people will figure out that such a ending is possible. The only clues being the existence of an assassins guild, a sage running around and some weirdo Wyrm found just above the gate.

In addition to a no-chaotic quest, some hints to saving the sage and that the dagger has a purpose is also needed. Edit - I mean, not that many ppl is going to leave the UL to go see what the prince has to say, Deity they most likely won't be xl 45 anyway.